A general introduction to restructuring in Uzbekistan
1. Introduction
Uzbekistan is a young, independent state that gained its independence in 1991 as a result of the collapse of the USSR. It is a unitary state consisting of 12 administrative regions and the autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan. The capital city is Tashkent, and Uzbekistan has a total population of around 37 million people. In accordance with the National Statistics Committee's information,1 the total number of registered companies in 2025 is approximately 725,000 and the total number of operating companies is around 425,000. Based on information provided by the State Assets Management Agency, 2025 started with 1,776 active enterprises with state share in their charter capitals. The Agency reports that there are nearly 14,500 enterprises with state share in the country, which are insolvent and being liquidated. A total of 376 of these are reported to have property.
In accordance with the established legal tradition, restructuring and insolvency have always been regulated in Uzbekistan by a single legislative document. Since 1 January 2023 this has been the Law on Insolvency. Previous legislative acts include the Law on Bankruptcy enacted in 1994, which was later updated in 1998. In 2003 a new edition of the Law on Bankruptcy was introduced and has been drafted with the assistance of the European Union's technical assistance projects.
The Law on Insolvency is treated as a legislative document of direct effect in Uzbekistan, meaning that the parliament has attempted to introduce a single-source legislative document that means there is no need to approve multiple documents representing secondary legislation such as resolutions of the President, the Cabinet of Ministers or an authorised state regulator.
